HR 9085

1	House Resolution
2	A resolution recognizing April 2011 as "Sexual Assault
3	Awareness Month" in Florida.
4
5	WHEREAS, sexual assault continues to be a major social
6	crisis in our society, with one in nine women in Florida being a
7	survivor of sexual violence, and
8	WHEREAS, sexual assault affects many Floridians, either
9	directly, as the survivor of sexual assault, or indirectly, as a
10	family member, friend, neighbor, or coworker of the survivor,
11	and
12	WHEREAS, sexual assault has a devastating effect on
13	survivors, affecting every aspect of their lives, often leading
14	to posttraumatic stress disorder and increasing the risk of
15	depression, suicide, homelessness, and substance abuse, and
16	WHEREAS, volunteers and service providers in Florida's 30
17	certified rape crisis centers work to provide a continuum of
18	care to sexual assault survivors through 24-hour hotlines,
19	counseling, support groups, advocacy, medical care, and
20	education, and
21	WHEREAS, the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence seeks
22	to improve services for survivors of sexual assault and to
23	prevent future sexual assault through public awareness and
24	services for victims, and
25	WHEREAS, Lauren's Kids, Inc., the organization founded by
26	child sexual abuse survivor and educator Lauren Book-Lim, in
27	conjunction with the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence,
28	has organized the second annual "Walk In My Shoes," a 1,000-
29	mile, healing-journey walk across Florida which symbolizes the
30	long and painful road to recovery for survivors of sexual
31	assault, and
32	WHEREAS, this "Walk In My Shoes" walk from Key West to
33	Tallahassee will help provide awareness, guidance, and support
34	for survivors while also working to educate adults and children
35	about sexual assault, including the message that it is
36	acceptable to tell others about abuse that they have
37	experienced, and
38	WHEREAS, the Florida House of Representatives recognizes
39	the vital importance of designating a time devoted to increasing
40	public awareness and support of agencies providing services to
41	sexual assault survivors, and envisions a future in which all
42	communities are free of sexual violence, NOW, THEREFORE,
43
44	Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of
45	Florida:
46
47	That April 2011 is recognized as "Sexual Assault Awareness
48	Month" in Florida.
49	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be
50	presented to the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence and
51	Lauren's Kids, Inc., as a tangible token of the sentiments
52	expressed herein.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.